Payment of highway tolls via a mobile telecommunications network

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are method and apparatus for processing of highway toll payments by a mobile telecommunications service provider. A mobile telecommunications device communicates with a mobile telecommunications service provider. The mobile telecommunications service provider receives a request to calculate a route to a destination. The mobile telecommunications service provider determines the location of the mobile telecommunications device from a global navigation satellite system or from a mobile telecommunications network and calculates a route. The mobile telecommunications service provider then identifies toll booths along the calculated route. The mobile telecommunications service provider pre-pays the tolls. The mobile telecommunications service provider sends turn-by-turn instructions to the mobile telecommunications device and tracks the location of the mobile telecommunications device and records the date and time at which the mobile telecommunications device passes through a toll booth.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to payment of highway tolls, andmore particularly to payment of highway tolls via a mobiletelecommunications network.

Funding the construction and maintenance of highways via tolls collectedfrom drivers is a common practice. Drivers pay tolls at toll boothserected along a highway, or at highway entrances and exits. Toll boothsmay also be erected at the entrances and exits of tunnels and bridges.The most established practice calls for a driver to stop and pay anattendant. Various automated schemes such as mechanized collectionbaskets for coins or tokens have evolved over the years. Recent systemsuse a radio frequency (RF) transceiver mounted on a car (mobiletransceiver). As a car passes through a toll booth, an RF transceivermounted in the toll booth (fixed transceiver) queries the mobiletransceiver, which transmits a unique identification code linked to apayment account. The fixed transceiver receives the identification codeand forwards it to a billing system, which then bills a payment accountof the driver.

Although the RF transaction system is an improvement over previousschemes, it has several shortcomings, which include: (a) A highwayauthority incurs great expense to install infrastructure dedicatedsolely for toll collection. (b) Each vehicle that uses the RFtransaction system is required to have a registered mobile transceiver.Problems may then arise if a driver rents a car or borrows a car that isnot equipped with a registered mobile transceiver. (c) Not all RFtransaction systems are compatible. A mobile transceiver which operateswith an RF transaction system in one state does not necessarily operatewith an RF transaction system in another state.

What is needed is a universal system for automated payment of highwaytolls. A system that does not require dedicated infrastructure isadvantageous.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an embodiment of the invention, a mobile telecommunications devicecommunicates with a mobile telecommunications service provider. Themobile telecommunications service provider receives a request tocalculate a route to a destination. The mobile telecommunicationsservice provider determines the location of the mobiletelecommunications device from a global navigation satellite system orfrom a mobile telecommunications network and calculates a route. Themobile telecommunications service provider then identifies toll boothsalong the calculated route.

In an embodiment of the invention, the mobile telecommunications serviceprovider pre-pays the tolls. The mobile telecommunications serviceprovider sends turn-by-turn instructions to the mobiletelecommunications device and tracks the location of the mobiletelecommunications device and records the date and time at which themobile telecommunications device passes through a toll booth.

These and other advantages of the invention will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detaileddescription and the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A-FIG. 1C show schematics of toll booths with location-trackingsystems;

FIG. 2 shows a message flow diagram for processing payment of highwaytolls via a mobile telecommunications network;

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show a flowchart of steps for a method forprocessing payment of highway tolls via a mobile telecommunicationsnetwork; and

FIG. 4 shows a high-level schematic of a computer which may be used toimplement a system for processing payment of highway tolls via a mobiletelecommunications network.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Mobile telecommunications networks have been widely deployed, and thenumber of subscribers continues to increase. Mobile telecommunicationsdevices, such as wireless phones and laptops outfitted with wirelessmodems, may transmit and receive multimedia content (voice, video, anddata). Mobile telecommunications devices commonly operate on cellularnetworks, but may also operate on other wireless networks such as WiMax.Since several mobile telecommunications networks cover the entirecountry (international service may also be available), a single mobiletelecommunications device may operate consistently across the country.Mobile telecommunications networks may also have the capability to trackthe location of a specific mobile telecommunications device. Embodimentsof the invention use the location-tracking capability to determine whena vehicle carrying a mobile telecommunications device is passing througha specific toll booth.

There are several schemes for location tracking by a mobiletelecommunications network. Three examples are shown in FIG. 1A-FIG. 1C.In FIG. 1A, vehicle 102 carries a mobile telecommunications device (MTD)104. Herein, a vehicle refers to any entity subject to a toll whenpassing through a toll booth. Vehicles include cars, trucks, andmotorcycles. MTD 104, for example, is a cell phone which the driver(also referred to as the subscriber) may conveniently carry from onevehicle to another. Radio frequency (RF) transmissions containingmessages from MTD 104 are received by mobile telecommunications network130, operated by a mobile telecommunications service provider (such as acell phone service provider). Through a process of triangulation of RFsignals received by cell tower 132-cell tower 136, the location of MTD104 may be tracked. In FIG. 1A, for example, vehicle 102 is approachingtoll booth 110. If triangulation by cell towers does not providesufficient accuracy, a microcell transceiver 138 may be positioned inthe vicinity of toll booth 110 (FIG. 1B). In one system configuration, amicrocell transceiver is installed at each toll booth. In other systemconfigurations, one or more microcell transceivers provide RF coveragefor all toll booths at a toll plaza. Note that microcell transceiver 138is not dedicated for the processing of toll payments. It is integratedinto the overall mobile telecommunications network 130 and provides thesame mobile telecommunications services as macrocell base stations,resulting in a seamless network.

Global navigation satellite systems (GNSSs) may also be used forlocation tracking. They are capable of determining locations with highaccuracy in near-real time. Examples of GNSSs include the GlobalPositioning System (GPS) [USA] and Global Orbital Navigation System(GLONASS) [Russia]. Other GNSSs, such as Galileo [European], are beingplanned. In the discussions below, GPS is used as a specific example ofa GNSS. In GPS, a constellation of satellites transmit radio signals ata fixed carrier frequency. The two principal carrier frequencies are1.57542 GHz (L1 carrier) and 1.22760 GHz (L2 carrier). The L1 carrier ismodulated with a coarse acquisition (C/A) pseudorandom (PR) code, whichis inversely modulated by binary information symbols. The PR codetransmitted from a specific satellite uniquely identifies the specificsatellite. Information carried in the radio signal includes the orbitposition of the satellite. A single satellite channel refers to a(carrier, PR code) pair. A GPS receiver on Earth receives a satellitechannel and decodes the information. From the delay time between thetime of transmission of the PR code by the satellite and the time ofreception of the PR code by the receiver, the distance between thereceiver and the satellite may be calculated if the velocity of theradio signal is known. By calculating the distances between the receiverand several (typically four) satellites whose positions are known, theposition of the receiver may be calculated. Higher accuracy may beachieved by tracking carrier phases and using advanced signal-processingtechniques to correct for transmission anomalies.

Compact, low-power, low-cost GPS receivers have been integrated intomobile telecommunications devices. These mobile telecommunicationsdevices are commonly referred to as GPS phones. The coordinatesdetermined by the GPS receiver may then be transmitted by the GPS phoneto the mobile telecommunications service provider, which may then trackthe location of the GPS phone in near-real time. Hybrid systems,commonly referred to as assisted GPS (A-GPS), integrate thelocation-tracking capabilities of GPS and mobile telecommunicationsnetworks. They have the capability of providing faster response timesand wider coverage under a broader range of operating conditions thanGPS by itself. In FIG. 1C, mobile telecommunications network 130includes a GPS receiver 142 to provide A-GPS service. MTD 104 has a GPSreceiver that communicates with GPS network 150. MTD 104 also receivesA-GPS information from mobile telecommunications network 130.

Note that the location of MTD 104 may be tracked by combinations of thesystems illustrated in FIG. 1A-FIG. 1C.

The capability to track the location of a GPS phone has allowed mobiletelecommunications service providers to offer turn-by-turn (T-B-T)navigation services, similar to those provided by stand-alone GPSnavigation systems. A subscriber communicates with the mobiletelecommunications service provider via a GPS phone and activates thenavigation service. The subscriber then enters the desired destination.The mobile telecommunications service provider determines the locationof the GPS phone and, using a database of geographical information,plots a route to the destination. The routing information is transmittedto the GPS phone. Depending on the capabilities of the GPS phone, a mapmay be displayed on a video display, and T-B-T instructions may beprovided to the driver via an audio announcement system.

FIG. 2 shows a message flow diagram between entities (parties) involvedin an embodiment of the invention: subscriber 250, mobiletelecommunications service provider 260, and highway toll authority 270.In general, more than one highway toll authority may be involved (forexample, if the driver travels across more than one state). Subscriber250 uses a mobile telecommunications device to communicate over a mobiletelecommunications network with a communications system, which mayinclude a computer or server, operated by mobile telecommunicationsservice provider 260. Mobile telecommunications service provider 260uses a communications system to communicate over a communicationsnetwork, which may be wireless or land-line, with a communicationssystem operated by highway toll authority 270 (as discussed below withrespect to FIG. 4).

Subscriber 250 initiates the T-B-T service by sending T-B-T servicerequest 202 to mobile telecommunications service provider 260, whichconsults its database of subscribers registered for the T-B-T service.If subscriber 250 is registered, then mobile telecommunications serviceprovider 260 returns T-B-T service authorization 204 to subscriber 250.Subscriber 250 then sends destination 206 to mobile telecommunicationsservice provider 260, which determines the location of subscriber 250,plots the route to the destination, and returns route information 208 tosubscriber 250.

Route information 208 includes the location of toll booths and theamount of tolls to be paid. Subscriber 250 then sends toll pay servicerequest 210 to mobile telecommunications service provider 260, whichconsults its database of subscribers registered for the toll payservice. If subscriber 250 is registered, then mobile telecommunicationsservice provider 260 returns toll pay service authorization 212 tosubscriber 250.

Information provided in toll pay service request 206 includes thelicense plate of the car that subscriber 250 is driving. Toll booths aretypically equipped with cameras which photograph license plates. In theevent of a suspected toll evader, the highway toll authority comparesthe license plate numbers against a database of subscribers to anautomated toll payment system, such as the dedicated RF transactionsystem described earlier. If the license plate number is registered,then the toll is charged against the driver's account. If the licenseplate number is not registered, then the driver is sent a fine.

Mobile telecommunications service provider 260 sends toll registrationinformation 214 to highway toll authority 270 that has jurisdiction overthe toll booths along the planned route. As discussed above, more thanone highway toll authority may be involved. Toll registrationinformation 214 includes the license plate number of the vehicle thatsubscriber 250 is driving, the locations of the toll booths along theplanned route, and advance payment (pre-payment) for the tolls (orauthorization to charge a payment account for the tolls).

Mobile telecommunications service provider 260 sends T-B-T instructions216 to subscriber 250, who then drives along the planned route. Locationinformation 218 of subscriber 250 is constantly received by mobiletelecommunications service provider 260, which tracks the location ofsubscriber 250 as a function of time. In an embodiment of the invention,mobile telecommunications service provider 260 records the location ofsubscriber 250 as a function of time. In particular, mobiletelecommunications service provider 260 records the specific date andtime at which subscriber 250 passes through a specific toll booth. Ifsubscriber 250 deviates from the planned route, mobiletelecommunications service provider 260 recalculates the route and sendsupdated toll registrations to highway toll authority 270.

At times agreed upon by mobile telecommunications service provider 260and highway toll authority 270, highway toll authority 270 sends billreport 220 to mobile telecommunications service provider 260. Billreport 220 includes records of the toll transactions (as reported bylicense plate number) for subscriber 250. Mobile telecommunicationsservice provider 260 then compares the entries in bill report 220 to itslog of the toll booths passed by subscriber 250 and sends billacknowledgement/adjustment 222 to highway toll authority 270. If thereare any discrepancies, mobile telecommunications service provider 260and highway toll authority 270 resolve the discrepancies according to apre-determined dispute resolution procedure.

Mobile telecommunications service provider 260 periodically (forexample, once a month) sends a bill 224 to subscriber 250. Highway tollcharges, for example, may be included in the monthly cell phone bill.Subscriber 250 then sends payment 226 to mobile telecommunicationsservice provider 260.

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show a flowchart of steps for processing payment ofhighway tolls via a mobile telecommunications network, as viewed fromthe perspective of mobile telecommunications service provider 260. Instep 302 (FIG. 3A), mobile telecommunications service provider 260receives T-B-T service request 202 from subscriber 250. The process thenpasses to step 304, in which mobile telecommunications service provider260 sends T-B-T service authorization 204 to subscriber 250. The processthen passes to step 306, in which mobile telecommunications serviceprovider 260 receives destination 206 from subscriber 250. The processthen passes to step 308, in which mobile telecommunications serviceprovider 260 determines the location of subscriber 250 and calculatesthe route to the destination.

The process then passes to step 310, in which mobile telecommunicationsservice provider 260 sends route information 208 to subscriber 250. Instep 312, mobile telecommunications service provider 260 receives tollpay service request 210 from subscriber 250. The process then passes tostep 314, in which mobile telecommunications service provider 260 sendstoll pay service authorization 212 to subscriber 250. The process thenpasses to step 316, in which mobile telecommunications service provider260 sends toll registration 214 to highway toll authority 270. Theprocess then passes to step 318 (FIG. 3B), in which mobiletelecommunications service provider 260 sends T-B-T instructions 216 tosubscriber 250. In step 320, as the subscriber 250 drives along theroute, mobile telecommunications service provider 260 receives locationinformation 218 of subscriber 250.

In step 322, mobile telecommunications service provider 260 receivesbill report 220 from highway toll authority 270. The process then passesto step 324, in which mobile telecommunications service provider 260compares the entries in bill report 220 with the entries in its data logfor subscriber 250. The process then passes to step 326, in which mobiletelecommunications service provider 260 sends billacknowledgement/adjustment to highway toll authority 270. If there areany discrepancies, mobile telecommunications service provider 260 andhighway toll authority 270 resolve any disputes. For example, mobiletelecommunications service provider 260 may present records showingwhether or not subscriber 250 passed through a specific toll booth at aspecific date and time. The process then passes to step 328, in whichmobile telecommunications service provider 260 sends bill 224 tosubscriber 250. In step 330, mobile telecommunications service provider260 receives payment 226 from subscriber 250.

One embodiment of a highway toll payment system via a mobiletelecommunications network may be implemented using a computer. As shownin FIG. 4, computer 402 may be any type of well-known computercomprising a central processing unit (CPU) 404, memory 406, data storagedevice 408, and user input/output interface 410. Data storage device 408may comprise a hard drive, non-volatile memory, or other computerreadable medium (such as a magnetic disk or compact disc read onlymemory). User input/output interface 410 may comprise connections to auser input/output device 430, such as a mouse or keyboard, which enablea user to operate computer 402.

As is well known, a computer operates under control of computer softwarewhich defines the overall operation of the computer and applications.CPU 404 controls the overall operation of the computer and applicationsby executing computer program instructions which define the overalloperation and applications. The computer program instructions may bestored in data storage device 408 and loaded into memory 406 whenexecution of the program instructions is desired. The method steps shownin the flowchart in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B may be defined by computerprogram instructions stored in the memory 406 or in the data storagedevice 408 (or in a combination of memory 406 and data storage device408) and controlled by the CPU 404 executing the computer programinstructions. For example, the computer program instructions may beimplemented as computer executable code programmed by one skilled in theart to perform algorithms implementing the method steps shown in theflowchart in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. Accordingly, by executing the computerprogram instructions, the CPU 404 executes algorithms implementing themethod steps shown in the flowchart in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B.

Computer 402 may further comprise a video display interface 412, whichtransforms signals from CPU 404 to signals which drive video display432. Computer 402 may further comprise one or more network interfaces.For example, communications network interface 414 comprises a connectionto communications network 434. Computer 402 may communicate withexternal servers, such as server 442, via communications network 434.Server 442, for example, may operate billing systems for mobiletelecommunications service provider 260 or highway toll authority 270(see FIG. 2). Communications network 434 may further communicate withmobile telecommunications network 130, which communicates over awireless link with MTD 104 transported on vehicle 102 (see FIG. 1).

The foregoing Detailed Description is to be understood as being in everyrespect illustrative and exemplary, but not restrictive, and the scopeof the invention disclosed herein is not to be determined from theDetailed Description, but rather from the claims as interpretedaccording to the full breadth permitted by the patent laws. It is to beunderstood that the embodiments shown and described herein are onlyillustrative of the principles of the present invention and that variousmodifications may be implemented by those skilled in the art withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention. Those skilled inthe art could implement various other feature combinations withoutdeparting from the scope and spirit of the invention.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A method for processing payment of tolls bya mobile telecommunications service provider, the method comprising:receiving, by a processor, a starting location of a mobiletelecommunications device; receiving, by the processor, a destination;calculating, by the processor, a route from the starting location to thedestination to generate a calculated route; identifying, by theprocessor, a toll plaza comprising toll booths along the calculatedroute prior to the mobile telecommunications device arriving at the tollplaza; recording, by the processor, based on a message from the mobiletelecommunications device received at one of a plurality of microcelltransceivers integrated into a mobile telecommunications network of themobile telecommunications service provider and located in the vicinityof a respective toll booth, a date and time at which the mobiletelecommunications device passes through the respective toll booth togenerate a recorded date and time; receiving, by the processor, arecorded toll transaction; comparing, by the processor, the recordeddate and time with the recorded toll transaction; and upon determining adiscrepancy between the recorded date and time and the recorded tolltransaction, resolving, by the processor, the discrepancy.
 2. The methodof claim 1, further comprising: calculating turn-by-turn instructionsbased on the calculated route.
 3. The method of claim 2, furthercomprising: sending the turn-by-turn instructions to the mobiletelecommunications device.
 4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:pre-paying a toll based on the toll plaza along the calculated route. 5.The method of claim 1, wherein: the mobile telecommunications device istransported by a vehicle identified by a license plate with a licenseplate number.
 6. An apparatus for processing payment of tolls by amobile telecommunications service provider, the apparatus comprising: aprocessor; and a memory to store computer program instructions, thecomputer program instructions when executed on the processor cause theprocessor to perform operations comprising: receiving a startinglocation of a mobile telecommunications device; receiving a destination;calculating a route from the starting location to the destination togenerate a calculated route; identifying a toll plaza comprising tollbooths along the calculated route prior to the mobile telecommunicationsdevice arriving at the toll plaza; recording, based on a message fromthe mobile telecommunications device received at one of a plurality ofmicrocell transceivers integrated into a mobile telecommunicationsnetwork of the mobile telecommunications service provider and located inthe vicinity of a respective toll booth, a date and time at which themobile telecommunications device passes through the respective tollbooth to generate a recorded date and time; receiving a recorded tolltransaction; comparing the recorded date and time with the recorded tolltransaction; and upon determining a discrepancy between the recordeddate and time and the recorded toll transaction, resolving thediscrepancy.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6, the operations furthercomprising: calculating turn-by-turn instructions based on thecalculated route.
 8. The apparatus of claim 7, the operations furthercomprising: sending the turn-by-turn instructions to the mobiletelecommunications device.
 9. The apparatus of claim 6, the operationsfurther comprising: pre-paying a toll based on the toll plaza along thecalculated route.
 10. A non-transitory computer readable medium storingcomputer program instructions for processing payment of tolls by amobile telecommunications service provider, which, when executed on aprocessor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:receiving a starting location of a mobile telecommunications device;receiving a destination; calculating a route from the starting locationto the destination to generate a calculated route; identifying a tollplaza comprising toll booths along the calculated route prior to themobile telecommunications device arriving at the toll plaza; recording,based on a message from the mobile telecommunications device received atone of a plurality of microcell transceivers integrated into a mobiletelecommunications network of the mobile telecommunications serviceprovider and located in the vicinity of a respective toll booth, a dateand time at which the mobile telecommunications device passes throughthe respective toll booth to generate a recorded date and time;receiving a recorded toll transaction; comparing the recorded date andtime with the recorded toll transaction; and upon determining adiscrepancy between the recorded date and time and the recorded tolltransaction, resolving the discrepancy.
 11. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 10, the operations further comprising:calculating turn-by-turn instructions based on the calculated route. 12.The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 11, the operationsfurther comprising: sending the turn-by-turn instructions to the mobiletelecommunications device.
 13. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 10, the operations further comprising: pre-paying a tollbased on the toll plaza along the calculated route.